Crime and Punishment / 1900-1969
Crime and Punishment: Death Penalty Debate
By the 1960s, many people were no longer convinced that execution was the right punishment.
What To Remember
- The debate balanced deterrence, revenge and protection against morality, mistakes and doubts about effectiveness.
- The Homicide Act 1957 reduced the use of hanging by limiting it to certain categories of murder.
- The Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965 suspended hanging for murder, and abolition was made permanent in 1969.
Arguments for and against
Supporters argued that hanging deterred murder, saved the cost of life imprisonment and gave justice for victims.
They also claimed that murderers released from prison might kill again.
Opponents argued that many murders were impulsive, so execution did not deter them, and that the state might hang the wrong person.
The 1957 compromise
The Homicide Act 1957 limited hanging to certain types of murder, including murder during theft, murder by shooting or explosion, killing while resisting arrest, and killing a police or prison officer.
It also made diminished responsibility important, so some defendants could be convicted of manslaughter instead of murder.
This was a halfway step, not full abolition.
Abolition
Controversial cases such as Derek Bentley made many people question whether capital punishment was fair.
The Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965 suspended the death penalty for murder in Great Britain.
Parliament made abolition permanent in 1969, showing the growing influence of reforming attitudes and doubts about deterrence.
Revision Prompt
Was the death penalty useful or unfair?